From Amazon.com
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman expose the fallacies of standard management thinking in
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. In seven chapters, the two consultants for the Gallup Organization debunk some dearly held notions about management, such as "treat people as you like to be treated"; "people are capable of almost anything"; and "a manager's role is diminishing in today's economy." "Great managers are revolutionaries," the authors write. "This book will take you inside the minds of these managers to explain why they have toppled conventional wisdom and reveal the new truths they have forged in its place."
The authors have culled their observations from more than 80,000 interviews conducted by Gallup during the past 25 years. Quoting leaders such as basketball coach Phil Jackson, Buckingham and Coffman outline "four keys" to becoming an excellent manager: Finding the right fit for employees, focusing on strengths of employees, defining the right results, and selecting staff for talent--not just knowledge and skills. First, Break All the Rules offers specific techniques for helping people perform better on the job. For instance, the authors show ways to structure a trial period for a new worker and how to create a pay plan that rewards people for their expertise instead of how fast they climb the company ladder. "The point is to focus people toward performance," they write. "The manager is, and should be, totally responsible for this." Written in plain English and well organized, this book tells you exactly how to improve as a supervisor. --Dan Ring
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
First, Break All the Rules is the culmination of over 80,000 interviews conducted by The Gallup Organization. This is insightful work; no pundit-speak and no ivory tower theorizing. The authors stress that good managers spend more time with their best performers than with their less productive counterparts, that they fit people into the right roles and hire for talent rather than experience, that they focus on strength rather than weakness, and that they clearly define the right results as opposed to the right steps. Buckingham and Coffman also illustrate ways to promote and compensate people for honing their valuable talents instead of seeking new tasks that will take them up the company ladder. Buckingham, a senior lecturer in Gallup's Leadership Institute, delivers the text as if he knows what he's talking about, which he does. M.D.B. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
by Marcus Buckingham
by Marcus Buckingham
by Marshall Goldsmith
